


Closer

by irishlullaby13



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: F/M, Season/Series 03 Spoilers, Unresolved Romantic Tension, ichabbie - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-21 07:26:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6043213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irishlullaby13/pseuds/irishlullaby13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He got a little closer every time</p>
            </blockquote>





	Closer

**Author's Note:**

> Between the last ep and spoilers coming out of the wood works all week... this little nugget was born.

It had started as a joke, taking bets to see how long it would take Ichabod Crane to confess his love to the lovely Abbie Mills. But then word had spread and before long _all_ of Sleepy Hollow was in on the bet. Not just a small portion of Sleepy Hollow, not one neighbourhood, not just half... _all 144,000 residents_ of Sleepy Hollow were in on it (and maybe half of Tarrytown). Jenny and Joe suspected even the current foe in the Apocalypse was in on it (mostly because the bookie mentioned a woman in a cloak approached him and asked to put in a bet that it would never happen on behalf of herself and her beloved).

Even Abbie was in on the bet. She vowed that, if he did in fact admit his feelings, she would need her portion of her winnings to cover the medical expenses that would arise once she got done with him. So then the thing became to ask those making bets in favour if they wanted to contribute to the “Abbie's gonna tear his ass up” fund.

The only person that seemed to be oblivious to the betting pool and equally oblivious to how transparent he was with his feelings, was Ichabod Crane himself. He was just as oblivious to the amount of people trying their damnedest to get the bet to go their way—Abbie didn't really try anything. She was confident the betting would go her way and also because actively trying to get it to go her way would technically be cheating.

The funniest thing was that he was literally convinced _no one knew_ he was madly in love with Abbie. One could argue that he thought Joe knew but he had _been totally vague_ about what he meant when he said Abbie was one of the sources of his frustrations. There was absolutely no way for Joe to construe that he was frustrated in a romantic sense. Joe obviously thought it was related directly to Witness duties.

Questioning a jeweller about something? Oh yeah, sure, Abbie took him along and they pretended to be a couple that was thinking about getting engaged someday. No problems. And it drove the shop half insane, calling the bookie to see if there was confirmation of an actual relationship, only to be greeted with “nope.” 

But they had certainly thought it was about to happen when her and Crane had “settled” on a designer fire diamond trio in a platinum band. He had cradled her tiny hand in one his and delicately stroked the backs of her fingers as he spouted out some long, poetic prose about bonds and eternity, looking Abbie square in the eyes—everyone, _everyone_ in the shop immediately stopped what they were doing to see if this was the moment... And God dammit, the jeweller really wanted to punch Crane in the face when he excused himself to go see if there was another “trinket of affection which his beloved might enjoy” whilst Abbie and the jeweller discussed strange ongoings of Sleepy Hollow.

The questioning hadn't been too much help but Abbie at least found out Crane felt she deserved a engagement ring that cost the same as a brand new, small suv. She had wanted to slug Crane in the face too. The ring had been gorgeous but she knew his ass would never be able to afford it. 

Trip to Starbucks? She would find them a cosy corner table while he ordered the drinks. The baristas would ask him when him and his “girlfriend” were getting engaged yet. This would in turn cause him to become flustered and drop the handful of bills and change he had fished from his pocket while he muttered about how “she would never... she couldn't possibility be...” and they would do their best to encourage him to at least try and ask her out for a date. A proper date. They were way beyond 'coffee dates' because she was obviously into him.

Which Crane hadn't even known coffee dates were _a thing_.

He even remained blissfully oblivious to how quiet the shop became when he started to nervously touch Abbie's hand and tell her how grateful he was for everything she did for him. But it had been Abbie to cut him short because _she_ had noticed the quiet and she was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to get through his speech without mentioning their being Witnesses or time travel.

The funniest yet had been when they had to go to a sex shop to question one of the cashiers about something she had seen. Abbie had _warned him_ to stay in the car but nope. He quickly learned that it was not all just frilly lingerie as he thought and that Benny Frank had in no way prepared him for the truth. She honestly thought his eyes were going to start bleeding. All he could muster was a series of strangled noises when one of the other employees started trying to educate him on fuzzy handcuffs.

“Or...” the saleperson said, looking between him and Abbie before waggling their eyebrows. “The missus could use them on you...”

His eyes shot to Abbie. She could tell he _really_ wanted to say something. Considering his face was probably going to turn blue shortly, Abbie figured it was “get me out of this place.” So she escorted him back out to the car and went back in to finish the investigation. And buy a few things for herself because, “Sorry, y'all... it still hasn't happened.”

Which he looked between the black bag and her with a horrified expression the entire way home. Although at one point on the drive, Abbie had to dig in the console for napkins because his nose started gushing blood.

He hid out in his bedroom the rest of the day to avoid looking her in the eyes. Or at least, that's what Abbie told herself.

  
#  


She tried not to think of those times while in the catacombs. Sometimes they would make her angry. Sometimes they would make her cry. Flirtations may have sometimes been a little bit bolder while they played chess. That cocky little eyebrow of his may have arched a little higher than it should have.

Sometimes she would imagine he actually confessed his feelings—those were very rare because she needed to hold on to reality, she couldn't let herself get dragged into fantasy.

  
#  


He tried not to think of those times in her absence. Sometimes they made him angry. Sometimes they made him cry. Flirtations were always bolder when they were in the heat of the game. And her gaze, that sultry smile, may have invited him to more than just a friendly rematch when she got him in checkmate.

Sometimes he imagined he had actually been able to confess his feelings—those were rare because he needed to focus on reality in order to find her. He could not allow himself to get lost in fantasies.

  
#  


Touching. So much touching. There had never been this much touching. It was over-whelming. It wasn't enough. She just wanted to crawl into his arms and stay there for a few years and revel in the sensation of his touch. And then... _then_. Oh God, this was it...

She could see it in his eyes. There was... something he had meant to say in the catacombs. Away from everyone. Away from prying eyes, just the two of them... Then he looked toward Joe and she just _knew_. She knew he wasn't going to say it. She had to look away because she didn't know if she could handle him losing his nerve and the resulting deflection he made.

She repressed the urge to fucking strangle him and pretended she didn't realize he had been _so close_ to saying it this time. Then again, he got a little closer every time. Maybe next time he would actually do it.


End file.
